Work Starts On Dorchester's New Shopping Street

Dorchester's Brewery Square development has filled a void that the county town was lacking, according to Director Andrew Wadsworth.

Work on a £27M contract which is the next phase of the development has now started.

It will include 15 new shops and 134 new apartments.

Speaking at a meeting of Dorchester Chamber of Commerce Mr Wadsworth said:

"The shops will be slightly larger than the existing ones in Brewery Square itself and Pope Street. And the fact that we've had such success so far is testament to the fact that the idea does work - and that is to provide things the town doesn't have."

One of the feature pieces of the new development will be a large, bronze statue of a dray horse.

"The horse commemorates the history of the site as a brewery as there were many dray horses here delivering beer. But this horse is retired, his mane has grown out, he's no longer in his finery and he's seen leaving the brewery as the brewery is closed."

Plans are in place for a very special ceremony to mark the arrival of the bronze sculpture.